Eagles Club proceeds despite bankruptcy

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Eagles Club proceeds despite bankruptcy

Proceedings, including a $300,000 sexual harassment payment, still pending

Tim Leeds

Published: Tuesday, August 14th, 2012

Three months into bankruptcy proceedings, the manager of the Havre Eagles Club said the Chapter 11 filing has not affected the club’s operation. Events are still occurring and being planned right through the club’s Christmas celebration and beyond.

“It’s not affecting business at all, ” club manager Tom Farnham said Monday.

The Eagles filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U. S. Bankruptcy Court April 27, 10 days after state District Court Judge Dan Boucher ordered the Eagles to pay $290,780.75 to KayCee Groven, who the state had determined had been sexually harassed by Farnham.

The Eagles asked the bankruptcy court judge to rule that the money they owe Groven is not secured by the club’s property.

The attorneys for Groven and the Eagles had not returned calls asking for comment by deadline this morning.

Bankruptcy Court Judge Ralph B. Kirscher of Butte has not scheduled a trial on the Eagles request or on the general Chapter 11 reorganization and proposed payment plans to creditors.

Under Chapter 11, the business proposes how it would reorganize its finances and proposes payment plans to creditors.

According to documents the Eagles have filed in Bankruptcy Court, the value of its building is $64,000 and that already is securing a debt to Independence Bank, a $115,000 loan made in 2009 with a balance of $105,594.66.

A document lists the club’s net income from June 2011 through April 2012 as $52,517.17 in the red, which is worse than last year, when the club lost $47,685,60.

Groven filed the complaint with the state Human Rights Bureau, listing several years of harassment. Farnham pleaded guilty in Blaine County Court to sexual assault.

Farnham said that Boucher’s order was the reason for the bankruptcy filing.

Boucher ordered the Eagles Aerie 166, doing business as the Eagles Club, to make its first payment May 1, with $248,384.75 due and payable immediately. The remaining $42,396 was to be paid monthly from June 1 through Nov. 1, 2013.

The total included the Human Rights Bureau damages of $234,354.01 and attorney fees and costs Boucher awarded Groven totalling $56,426.74.

Groven filed a complaint with the state Human Rights Commission alleging the Eagles Club, her employer, had sexually discriminated against her when Farnham subjected her to a hostile work environment by inappropriately touching her and committing sexual assault against her.

The hearing officer found that Farnham had acted increasingly inappropriately from 2004, when Groven began working at the club, through her quitting her job after he sexually assaulted her in Blaine County Sept. 1, 2009, to which he pleaded guilty.

As Groven had talked to club officers and a trustee starting in 2006 asking them to stop Farnham from touching and propositioning her, the hearing officer ruled that the Eagles Club was liable for the work environment. The hearing officer noted that after the Havre Eagles board of trustees gave Farnham a written disciplinary warning, the national Eagles organization stepped in and Farnham was fired. The local board later rehired him as manager.

The bureau hearing officer ordered the Eagles to pay Groven $193,502.47 in lost wages and benefits, interest and emotional distress damages, and a monthly payment for part of two years for future earnings.

The Eagles appealed, saying it should not pay the $75,000 ordered for emotional distress.

The Human Rights Commission then ruled the amount for emotional damages should be $100,000.

Groven filed the petition for enforcement of the Human Rights Bureau order and requesting attorney fees and costs in state District Court in Havre Nov. 30, 2011.

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Comments (11)

By shame on them on September 20th, 2012 at 07:01am

This looks bad for all Eagles clubs. How can they let Tom walk around like he has done nothing wrong. Can\\\'t the Eagles ask for help from the national organization? or do fundraisers. THis club is supossed to be about helping people not hurting them. Shame on anyone that supports Tom and the people that stand behind him. I feel that woman should be paid what her judgement granted. Now her life is affected and Tom and the Eagles has avoided punishment. They should not be in business. Hopefully they will have to sell and someone can turn that place into something that will help the community not a place where woman have to worry about a preditor manager and his boys.

By shame on them on September 20th, 2012 at 07:00am

This looks bad for all Eagles clubs. How can they let Tom walk around like he has done nothing wrong. Can't the Eagles ask for help from the national organization? or do fundraisers. THis club is supossed to be about helping people not hurting them. Shame on anyone that supports Tom and the people that stand behind him. I feel that woman should be paid what her judgement granted. Now her life is affected and Tom and the Eagles has avoided punishment. They should not be in business. Hopefully they will have to sell and someone can turn that place into something that will help the community not a place where woman have to worry about a preditor manager and his boys.

By Something is not right with this story on August 16th, 2012 at 12:16pm

I was kind of thinking political like the rest of these comments Bob but for the sake of discussion you have raised a good point. Who is on this board of directors and why did they let this guy keep his job? Is there more to this story?

The curious thing about this is that most bars owners in Havre have paid from $100-300,000 for their liquor licenses and they live in nice neighborhoods and drive Cadillacs yet this fraternal organization gets a free fraternal liquor license and they are losing money. What is up with that?

By Joe on August 16th, 2012 at 05:43am

Well Bob he was a democrat leader, they do all hang out there and some of them are on the directors list but forgetting all that what I find most distasteful is the fact that they are trying to skirt their responsibility to pay the claim. Yes, I agree they should have had insurance, they should have had better control over the guy they hired to manage the place and they should have done a lot of thing differently but they are now running from their obligation to live up to their responsibilities. Obviously management and oversight of this operation sucks if they are losing 50K a year

It is not the girls fault they have no insurance and no management expertise and if they lose the place over their stupidity then so be it. On the other side 300k seems rather an excessive punishment for a groping but they obviously didn’t learn their lesson because Farnham is still there

By Bob on August 15th, 2012 at 08:52am

Dang, you had to take the Tom bashing in the political direction. I dont get it, the same people bashing Obama here were here 4 years ago bashing Bush and will be here 4 years from now bashing Romney should he win. Its getting old. Why cant we keep it simple and ask how can a organization keep a person in charge that was convicted of sexual harrassment. I am pretty sure that is not one of things he was suppose to be doing in his job description.

By Insurance? on August 14th, 2012 at 14:02pm

Normal well managed businesses actually carry insurance in case a manager or employee inflicts harm on someone. If any of these people had any business sense they wouldn't be in this fix. Farnham was the Havre council president for years so what does that tell you about the caliber of people making financial decisions on behalf of the taxpayers?

By Robinett on August 14th, 2012 at 12:48pm

Where is the Eagle's slush fund that comes up the $50 thousand a year in loses? It doesn't sound like a functioning organization. Sounds like Tom is running a one man ship till it sinks. To bad

By Obama wanna bees on August 14th, 2012 at 09:03am

Am I missing something? You say the Eagles has a $115,000 loan owed on a property worth $64,000 which they have owned for decades and they are showing a loss of around $50,000 per year. The manager and this board of directors should send their resume to the Obama Administration and see if they can get hired to run one of the many government programs. It appears they are highly qualified management material.

I hope they are saving up for a golden parachute severance package for the club CEO’s retirement

By Joe on August 14th, 2012 at 08:35am

NO! NO! NO! Bob.

Don’t you dare suggest anyone boycott the Eagles because that’s where the local Democrats all hang out, hold their high level strategy sessions and plot against the Republicans. You can’t expect these Democrats who quickly jump all over boycotting every business that speaks against them to actually boycott their own den of blunders and iniquity when they have been caught with their knickers down.

What are you thinking?

By Really? on August 14th, 2012 at 08:24am

Good old boys club. Alive and well in Havre.

By Bob on August 14th, 2012 at 08:08am

You have got to be kidding me, Tom still works at the Eagles. That has to be some kind of bad joke. And now they are doing bankruptcy to get out of paying the lady for Tom assaulting her. That sounds about right when you think of the Eagles and Tom. ITs about time everyone boycots the Eagles.

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